Neurology

Technology expands our individual networks - crosses them and adjusts our mental reality. I have recently seen and gained experience whilst I was at the KABK of augmented reality systems. The basic and most common use, uses a camera to capture what the viewers sees and then adds information on top displaying on a computer monitor or head mounted display for the viewer to see as reality. (But of course augmented reality as a concept encompasses all information artificially added onto our reality, such as television, radio or the internet.) It occured to me that augmented reality, different to virtual reality as it doesn't completely immerse its subject, could be used descriptively* within the grounding of our residual embodied experience that is how we process the world around us. (more on this later).

It is very interesting how arts technology and science communities have begun to form an alliance, such as the Arts Catalyst, Einsteins brain and alot of others. Science is described as 'pure truth as uncorrupted by culture', and as 'our most powerful narrative for organising sensory phenomena and taking their measurement. It is up to art and philosophy to make a 'sensus communis' (Kant, Critique of Pure Reason, 1934) from such research' (Jones, Sensorium, 2006). Although Jones' second statement appears logical, the idea that science is uncorrupted by culture can be disputed. For example, there was always alot of hesitation from scientists when disproving truths that describe the presence spirituality or contradict religious teachings. One only has to read about galilaeo and Pope Urban VIII or Darwins delays to come to this conclusion. Also, surely we could hardly know how culture effects the processing of empirical knowledge (effecting how measurement are taken in science) into a whole reality and it would be wrong to assume one could take a subjective perspective. Perception is governed by memory - a culturally learned way of perceiving the world.

*So what I propose, is that art can visualise the narrations of science through augmented reality to be perceived as reality, just beyond our limited human sensibilites. More specifically, what I am refering to is the unsensed sections of the electromagnetic spectrum that makes up a hidden material reality, we live with, but cannot see.

Can we visualise or even imagine, the entire depth of reality?